Whispers In The Dark
by cacamilis
Summary: When the BAU unit are called to Fairview on an urgent case of seemingly random brutal murders, they quickly learn that everyone has a skeleton in their closet in more ways than one. Stepping into the UnSub's shoes, though, is disconcertingly easy for one member of the team...


**A/N: This has been sitting on my desktop for nearly 3 months now, so I thought I'd finally put it out there. This is set post season 5 of DH, and mid season 7 of CM for future reference. Also, thanks to the lovely WhenTheWorldComesDown for betaing this chapter/answering my innumerable DH questions.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Desperate Housewives, this is just my preferred form of procrastination. :P**

"_**He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." – Friedrich Nietzsche.**_

Reid's intense concentration on the partially blank screen in front of him was broken by something light smacking into his forehead. Startled, he leaned back and glanced around the bullpen, searching for whoever had attacked him.

His eyes fell on an expectant looking Morgan who raised his eyebrows and nodded in the direction of Hotch's office. "So, genius, what do you reckon is going on in there?"

Reid glanced automatically towards said office, even though he knew exactly to what Morgan was referring. "Nothing good, I'm sure." He mumbled thoughtfully, creasing his brow.

Morgan chuckled darkly and sat back in his chair, fingering the rim of his coffee mug. "They've been in there for about an hour. Last time that happened, Seaver left to prevent us getting fired."

"Fifty three minutes, thirty nine seconds, actually." Reid continued to frown, his brilliant mind deep in thought. Strauss had emerged from her office with an expression to rival a black cloud, and stormed into Hotch's without knocking. The door had been closed, a sure sign of dire things coming to pass.

Morgan rolled his eyes and sought out a more talkative audience. "Prentiss?"

"I wouldn't envy Hotch his job today. If the door is closed, that means I wouldn't want to know about it." She gave up any pretence of working, flinging her pen down and cracking her knuckles. "Besides, we'll find out soon enough."

True to her predictions, the door to Hotch's office opened five minutes later, Strauss' expression no less murderous than when she had entered. Despite his stoic expression, Hotch's eyebrows had somehow descended further, betraying his foul mood. The three BAU agents in the bullpen instantaneously grabbed pens and tried to look busy, studiously pretending that they hadn't been spying through the office window.

"Conference room, now." Hotch's low voice carried from the catwalk, drawing them inexorably from their seats.

They filed into the spacious room; each silently pondering what was going on. Hotch appeared with Garcia, Rossi and JJ in tow moments later, taking his seat and addressing the group.

"As I'm sure you've gathered, Chief Strauss had a few issues to discuss with me this morning. Foremost among them, the military academy case several months ago. You all know that Strauss was forced into rehab following that case, because her alcoholism nearly jeopardised the investigation. She was absent from her post for a while, but now that she's back, investigations are underway. Her conduct as well as ours from during that case is being called into question. She has tried to shield us, but the Director is insisting on a formal inquiry. Strauss's drinking problem was never officially reported to the Bureau, so she has just as much to lose, if not more, than any of us in this investigation. I have fully reviewed everyone's reports from the case, and nothing is out of place. We have nothing to hide, and hopefully this will all be over soon. But for the next few cases, we are going to be monitored in the field by the local officers, who will report back to the higher ups. Which leads me on to the next thing. We have a new case in Fairview, Iowa."

JJ's perplexed voice cut in then. "Why didn't it come through me?"

"This was handed directly to Strauss by her superior. He wants it investigated by us as an unofficial political favour." Hotch continued, his stony expression never wavering.

Garcia, ever the epitome of colour and exuberance in a blue and orange dress, took that as her cue to stand up and present the case. Pointing the remote at the screen, she averted her eyes when the crime scene photos displayed themselves. "Carlos Solis, 42, stabbed 34 times in the chest. Found in his living room when his wife came home from the school run four days ago. Coroner's report showed no signs of a sedative, and there were no ligature marks on the body."

"He's been in jail before, any chance this was someone he met inside getting revenge or possibly keeping him quiet?" Prentiss mused.

"Doubtful." Morgan replied, pointing with his pen to the picture currently on the screen. It showed the victim lying on his back in a pool of blood. The injuries to his torso were clearly visible, numerous as they were. "There's too much overkill for it to be something born of necessity. Whoever did this was furious."

"And our only other victim, Karl Mayer, 43." Garcia spoke again and the corresponding photos appeared on screen. "Body was discovered just under a month ago in his apartment. Blunt force trauma to the head knocked him unconscious. Stabbed 17 times in the chest. Both the knife and the trophy used to hit our victim over the head were found at the crime scene, wiped clean of fingerprints."

"Three and a half weeks isn't much of a cooling off period." Rossi commented.

"Where's the connection?" JJ asked rhetorically. "The victimology is completely different. Karl Mayer was a divorced single father who worked as an attorney. Carlos Solis was a married family man and company president. They aren't similar in appearance, so why did the UnSub choose them?"

"Somewhere in our UnSub's mind, there is a logical explanation." Hotch said. "These victims had to have been chosen beforehand to be targeted this way."

"Coroner's report says there was no sign of sexual assault. Whatever our UnSub gets off on, it's got to be in his signature." Morgan added.

"There's a huge evolution between each kill." Reid's brow furrowed as he flipped back and forth between files on his tablet. "First victim, he subdues them and the stab wounds show hesitation. He was disorganised, he found the murder weapon at the crime scene and then left it there, but was still clear headed enough to wipe it clean of any evidence. Three weeks later, our killer doesn't subdue the victim, doubles the number of stab wounds and shows no hesitation. There's a knife missing from the butcher's block in the kitchen, but it wasn't found at the crime scene, meaning our killer took it with him."

"The MO is evolving and growing with our UnSub's bloodlust." Prentiss reasoned.

"Are we even sure that these killings were both the work of one UnSub?" Reid finally looked up, seeming sceptical. "I know it's a small town, but that's a pretty massive learning curve our UnSub's on."

"I agree," Morgan interjected. "But in a town that small the chances of two separate UnSubs operating at once are slim to none."

The team continued to speculate back and forth over the point until Hotch finally cut in. "We'll have to operate under the theory that this is the same UnSub for now, but I want you to look into it, Reid. We don't have any time to waste. Garcia, we may need you in the field on this case, so leave your calendar open." Turning, he addressed the rest of the group. "Wheels up in an hour."

**A/N: Yeah... I don't even know. Reviews boost your karma points greatly! ;)**


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